3.5 Psionic Elves

[sengmeng]

This is my idea for a +0 LA psionic elf for my campaign world. Beyond just being psionic, they try to live in nature without using any tools or creating any buildings, which is why they have some extra survival skills and armor interferes with reflex saves. They also have cultural taboos against magic, and aren't very good at it anyway.

Ability adjustments:
+2 dex, +2 wis, -2 cha
Psi-elves are as graceful as normal elves, but more hardy from their rugged wilderness lifestyle. Their inward thoughts and stoicism impair them in social interaction, however, and their often weather-beaten and sun-damaged faces do not possess the same haunting allure that humans find in other elves (though their appearance would be nearly indistinguishable from high elves if they lived the same lifestyle)

Preternatural Awareness:
Every Psi-elf is at least slightly psychic, and this gives them an enhanced awareness of danger. A Psi-elf adds both his wisdom and dexterity bonuses to Reflex saves, but subtracts his armor check penalty, if any. Wearing anything heavier than normal clothing is disruptive to the innate precognition that helps protect them from harm. Psi-elves gain a +2 insight bonus to Reflex saves.

Magical Vacuum:
Something in a Psi-elf's basic nature resists magic and is disruptive to its use. When a Psi-elf makes a successful Will save against a magical effect or spell, that effect is completely cancelled. This prevents any damage or effects that would normally be applied on a successful saving throw, such as the half damage from an Inflict spell.

Normal Sight:
Psi-elves don't have the sharpened physical senses of their kin, due to their reliance on their psionic senses. They see and hear no better than humans.

Immunity to Sleep: Like their non-psionic cousins, psi-elves are immune to Sleep and sleep-inducing effects.

Wilderness Survival:
Due to their lifestyle based on communion with nature and unwavering endurance of the elements, Psi-elves have a +2 bonus to Survival and Animal Empathy checks, and gain a +4 bonus to fortitude saves to resist damage from severely cold weather.

Magically Disinclined:
Psi-elves who overcome their cultural taboos and pursue a career in magic find that something in their very nature resists magic. Although Psi-elves are able to learn magic, it is always an unnatural act to them. Any time a Psi-elf casts a spell, he must make a Concentration check of DC 10 + the spell level. Any time they are subjected to a situation a normal spellcaster would have to make a Concentration check, the spell level is added to the DC again.

Naturally Psionic: All Psi-elves count as Psionic creatures and have the Psionic subtype even if they do not have power points or the ability to manifest powers or psi-like abilities. Psi-elves have 2 power points. This does not give them the ability to manifest psionic powers unless they have levels in a psionic class.

Dreamwalking:
A Psi-elf spends much of their reverie in a prescient state that allows them to learn about events in the past, present, or future. They may pick one skill that is not normally a class-skill and treat it as one. If they choose a Knowledge skill, they add a +2 racial bonus to it.

Favored Class: Psion.

Obsessive Bend:
Psi-elves mostly choose to live lives that focus on one thing at a time. They have a natural proclivity towards introspection, meditation, and strengthening their minds and bodies. They have difficulty in changing their focus because of this. Psi-elves who go against their society and pursue lifestyles other than those of the Psion or Monk still cannot overcome this tendency. They treat all classes the way most characters treat Monk or Paladin: as a dedicated path that once it is left, cannot be found again. Any time they gain a level in a new class, they lose the ability to raise the level of a previously held class. The only exception to this rule is Monk and Psion. They may raise their Monk or Psion levels interchangeably, but only if those are the only classes they have.

[Yora]

I think this race seems very weak and has barely any incentives to pick it.

Prenatural Awareness seems just... odd. It's a mechanic unlike anything in D&D, but I guess it would work.

I'm not sure about Magical Vacuum. It seems like Evasion, but for "Will save for half damage", but I don't think those effects come up very often.

Wilderness Survival could be split into Skill Bonuses and the Cold Endurance racial feature, but that's only nitpicking, the effect is the same.

Magically Disinclined also is an oddity. I think with this trait, it's just best to not play a magic using psi-elf and play something else instead. But rolling Concentration for every spell ever seems to be way too crippling for spellcasters at lower levels, and just a mere annoyance for high level casters.

Psionic could be represented by the Naturally Psionic racial feature that almost all races in the XPH have. Just give them 2 power points like any other psionic characters.

Obsessive Bend also is extremely crippling. Unless you want to play a straight psion, there's no good reason to play a psi-elf.

Overall, I think this race is lacking any really nice things. +2 to Survival and Handle Animal, one additional class skill, and +4 to Fort saves against cold is all they really have. +2 Dex and -2 Cha is a nice trade, but barely justifies the lack of any real benefits but the quite considerable bunch of drawbacks.

[Haarkla]

This is my idea for a +0 LA psionic elf for my campaign world. Beyond just being psionic, they try to live in nature without using any tools or creating any buildings, which is why they have some extra survival skills and armor interferes with reflex saves. They also have cultural taboos against magic, and aren't very good at it anyway.

Ability adjustments:
+2 dex, -2 cha
Psi-elves are as graceful as normal elves, but more hardy from their rugged wilderness lifestyle. Their inward thoughts and stoicism impair them in social interaction, however, and their often weather-beaten and sun-damaged faces do not possess the same haunting allure that humans find in other elves (though their appearance would be nearly indistinguishable from high elves if they lived the same lifestyle)

Preternatural Awareness:
Every Psi-elf is at least slightly psychic, and this gives them an enhanced awareness of danger. A Psi-elf adds both his wisdom and dexterity bonuses to Reflex saves, but subtracts his armor check penalty, if any. Wearing anything heavier than normal clothing is disruptive to the innate precognition that helps protect them from harm.

Magical Vacuum:
Something in a Psi-elf's basic nature resists magic and is disruptive to its use. When a Psi-elf makes a successful Will save against a magical effect or spell, that effect is completely cancelled. This prevents any damage or effects that would normally be applied on a successful saving throw, such as the half damage from an Inflict spell.

Normal Sight:
Psi-elves don't have the sharpened physical senses of their kin, due to their reliance on their psionic senses. They see and hear no better than humans.

Wilderness Survival:
Due to their lifestyle based on communion with nature and unwavering endurance of the elements, Psi-elves have a +2 bonus to Survival and Animal Empathy checks, and gain a +4 bonus to fortitude saves to resist damage from severely cold weather.

Magically Disinclined:
Psi-elves who overcome their cultural taboos and pursue a career in magic find that something in their very nature resists magic. Although Psi-elves are able to learn magic, it is always an unnatural act to them. Any time a Psi-elf casts a spell, he must make a Concentration check of DC 10 + the spell level. Any time they are subjected to a situation a normal spellcaster would have to make a Concentration check, the spell level is added to the DC again.

Psionic: All Psi-elves count as Psionic creatures and have the Psionic subtype even if they do not have power points or the ability to manifest powers or psi-like abilities.

Dreamwalking:
A Psi-elf spends much of their reverie in a prescient state that allows them to learn about events in the past, present, or future. They may pick one skill that is not normally a class-skill and treat it as one. If they choose a Knowledge skill, they add a +2 racial bonus to it.

Obsessive Bend:
Psi-elves mostly choose to live lives that focus on one thing at a time. They have a natural proclivity towards introspection, meditation, and strengthening their minds and bodies. They have difficulty in changing their focus because of this. Psi-elves who go against their society and pursue lifestyles other than those of the Psion or Monk still cannot overcome this tendency. They treat all classes the way most characters treat Monk or Paladin: as a dedicated path that once it is left, cannot be found again. Any time they gain a level in a new class, they lose the ability to raise the level of a previously held class. The only exception to this rule is Monk and Psion. They may raise their Monk or Psion levels interchangeably, but only if those are the only classes they have.

I like the flavour but in my opinion this is too weak. You should scrap the Charisma penalty and Magically Disinclined. I would also add Wis to AC when unarmoured, like a monk, if you want them to go about unarmoured.

In my opinion, an elf with a Charisma penalty is no elf at all. I'm suprised elves dont get a Cha bonus.

In my setting magic and psionics are closely related, no more separated than arcane and divine magic. It is said that the XPH is the best magic system ever created for D&D. You should scrap Magically Disinclined. I would also change Magical Vacuum to: Something in a Psi-elf's basic nature resists harmful magic ...

[paddyfool]

So, what you're aiming for in flavour is a psionic wild elf. I'd agree with prior commentators that a Charisma hit seems a tad odd, and that this race is a little less than tempting. On the basis that these remain fundamentally elves, and that it would be better to pull them towards psionics with a carrot than a stick, how about the following modifications to the basic elf template:

Some clans of wild elves have a gift for psionics, although their gift for the preternatural seems to leave them less aware of the world around them than other elves, and they are also less physically strong than most of their brethren.


+2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution. -2 Strength
Medium size.
An elf’s base land speed is 30 feet.
Immunity to sleep spells and effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
Low-light vision.
Weapon Proficiency: Elves are automatically proficient with the longsword, rapier, longbow, composite longbow, shortbow, and composite shortbow.
+2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.
Naturally Psionic: Naturally Psionic: Psionic elves gain 2 bonus power points at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.
Automatic Languages: Common, Elven. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Sylvan.
Favored Class: Wizard. Psion


Probably less interesting than playing a Psion or a Xeph, but could be fun. What could also be done would be trading out the weapons proficiency for an appropriate psi-like ability 1/day (and there are quite a few elf-appropriate ones - you could even bring back better senses, after a fashion, by giving them Synesthete).

[sengmeng]

it would be better to pull them towards psionics with a carrot than a stick

I take your point on that one. I sort of had this idea to create a race where 99% of the time they would be monks or psions, but pigeonholing isn't the way to go... they should get power points.

Obsessive Bend is a major drawback that I could give better benefits in return for, almost limiting them to single-class or multiclassing only as monks and psions, and as was observed, Magically Disinclined would stop being a problem after a while, as intended. I want them to have problems with magic, but not to bar them absolutely. Any other ideas to do that that are inconvenient but not crippling?

And what +0 LA race has a physical ability bonus and no ability penalty?

Fixes to come

[Newt]

I'm not going to offer a remake simply some suggestions, mainly because I'm one of those odd people who think Psicraft and Spellcraft refer to two different things so any information I offer is going to be annoying.

Having said that.. You've basically created a class, not a race. Look at Elans, they're the psionic equivalent of Humans. A psionic Elf is still an Elf, but instead of having favoured class as Wizard, they go for Psion. Instead of being immune to Sleep spells, they're immune to Sleep powers or better yet have a bonus against powers in the Telepath discipline. Instead of Draconic being a bonus language, try Gith. Give them a psionic flavour without turning them into a class which you seem to have based on the Monk. Psion is the Sorcerer equiv of pisonics, but still requires Int so.. Give them a bonus to Int perhaps? Or better yet, keep the Dex bonus, give them some power points and grant them a selection of powers, usable 1/day. Powers like Catfall, Missive, Skate, Demoralize. Nothing powerful, just something you think elves who emphasize the mind would have at their bidding.

Or go even further and look at Drow for an idea and make the psionic equivalent of that replete with their own culture and weaponry which they have bonuses in longbow and longsword and such, find crystal weapons and give them proficiency in that. Or keep the proficiencies they have but make it crystal versions only and give them a penalty when using metal items. Take out composite bows and add in staff, saw a swordbow somewhere.. Think it was crystal too, see if you can find that and then take out bows, add in swordbows. Flavor without too much drastic change, but keeping the alien psionic feel, if that's what you're going for.

Powers like Mind Thrust if they're warriors, Disable/Demoralize if you think they'd rather blend into the background rather than wasting time with the uncivilized people, Psionic Levitate maybe. Expanded Pisonics Handbook pg.. 'checks' 166. Has that picture of the crystal sword, always loved that. Anything Githyanki or Githzerai post psionics is good for getting an idea. Dark Sun and Planescape have quite a bit in there. Hell, Astral Traveler is a first level Psion power, give that to them all and have them flit between deep jungles, underground palaces made of crystal and the Astral Plane. Haven't seen a psionic elf, but if they're anything like normal elves, they're freaking awesome and have mastered psionics before humans figured out what the Astral Plane was. :smallcool:

Agree with paddyfool on the Str hit rather than Con, unless the idea is mind over body? The Con does make sense of course, slender elves, but so does Str. 'shrugs' Both work really, you're just looking to make the class appealing to people while staying close to your initial ideals.